Summer in Hobart is glorious. Temperatures generally in the mid-twenties, lots of sunshine but not the extreme heat or humidity of mainland Australia.

January feels like a holiday month, running over from Christmas and the New Year, “The Taste” food festival, MONA FOMA music and art festival, through to Australia Day. The kids on summer break, some businesses close for extended holidays.

For me, it has definitely been a holiday month. My work contract finished at the end of December and I am taking a slow approach to finding a new job. So I have had TIME during January.

Time to walk every day, along coastal paths, on the beach.

Time to stop and smell the roses, admire the structure of passion flowers, the delicate gum nuts in the eucalyptus trees.

Time to be calm, to be still, to balance stones on a grate. I blogged earlier about a community challenge to add to the stone stacks. Strong winds knocked them flat but several people seem to stop and build anew. My skills have improved no end, balancing nine stones on a few occasions.

Time to move photos to a hard drive. What a job that has turned into, but a joy to revisit holidays and favourite times and places as I attempt to reduce my photo archive.

Time to meet friends for coffee, a smoothie, or lunch. Time to chat, to relax. Time to enjoy a good book. Time to waste time.

I’m joining the “changing seasons” project, now hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch,
where you can get a glimpse of January through the eyes of other bloggers across the world.

I’ve posted lots of photos of this city, but earlier this month we had a bird’s eye view from the top of the tallest building in Tasmania.

We visited the revolving restaurant, seventeen floors above the city, so it was interesting to get a different view of the river, marinas, a visiting cruise ship, of Mount Wellington.

Also views of our apartment block, from above. We look out towards the casino, from our lounge and balcony. I walk past the casino on my way into the city.

Our timing was ideal, as day turned to dusk. As the light faded outside, night lights appeared and reflections increased. The meal was delicious with some throw-back touches to the 1970’s and 80’s. Steak cooked at the table, followed by a flamboyant Crepe Suzette.

Wrest Point Hotel Casino, Australia’s first legal casino, opened on 10 February 1973. The 73-meter-tall, dodecagonal hotel tower, with a revolving restaurant, was designed by Sir Roy Grounds. It is a landmark that is nationally identified with Hobart. The complex has expanded over the years now including several restaurants, boardwalk, conference center that hosts art exhibitions, live music, comedy, dances. It’s a popular place for locals and tourists.

“Sandy Bay Regatta is one of the longest running regattas in the world, having commenced in 1849. Like many regattas, it came from working sea-farers testing their skills against their mates. Sports like sailing and rowing became the main draw-cards for the public.”

Nowadays, it is a major Australia Day celebration in Hobart. As well as hosting the city’s Citizenship Ceremony, the regatta is a mix of activities on the water, the beach and the grass.

We have a ceramic poppy that sits beside our herb box, on our balcony, in Hobart.

Four years ago, our poppy was one of thousands, planted at The Tower of London, as part of the centenary commemorations of the First World War.

I was fortunate to see the display at The Tower, on several occasions, as I worked nearby and often strolled to the Tower during my lunch breaks.

Our poppy had several resting places, in our home in the UK, then spent a couple of years in its box. It joined us in Australia last month and is part of our home again.

There is a website, “Where are the poppies now?” which aims “to reunite digitally the 888,246 ceramic poppies from artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper’s 2014 installation, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red originally staged by Historic Royal Palaces at HM Tower of London in 2014.” Each poppy represented a British or Commonwealth military fatality during the war.

I “planted” our poppy on the website today, adding to the 30,000 others that have been registered. Ours is one of eight in Tasmania.

I’ve written previously about Hobart’s MONA – Museum of Old and New Art.

Each year they hold a Festival of Music and Art – FOMA.

We went to the festival on Saturday, a full day of music on various stages, both outdoors and within the museum galleries. Musicians are invited from across the globe. We listened to a cellist from Baghdad, a Patagonian folk trio, a Sudanese singer, a classical pianist from Ukraine, soul singer from USA, Tasmanian choirs and jazz orchestra.

It is intriguing when you don’t know the musicians or their music. The festival is always an eclectic mix of sounds, creativity, people, in such a great space.

The museum has recently expanded with a new wing, new art installations, new walkways and a new tapas bar and lounge.

Yesterday we participated in this intriguing interactive art installation, that is part of Hobart’s MONA FOMA weekend. (Museum of Old and New Art, Festival of Music and Art.)

We relaxed in these cocoon like hammocks, with sensors that picked up our heartbeat. The gentle sway was quite hypnotic and totally relaxing. The heartbeats formed an audio background but felt internal, somehow adding to a sense of silence and peace.

I have just started my third, 3 year “sentence a day” book. This is my 7th year of recording a sentence or two about each day.

One book is titled “The highlight of my day” which more accurately reflects what I write.
I don’t follow the prompts for each day. Sometimes I write about what I’ve done, where I’ve been, what I’ve seen or read. Sometimes I mention world news, but not often. Sometimes it is just an ordinary day.

I enjoy looking back. On this date on previous years, we’ve been tourists in London, we went to an ice sculpture exhibition, we spent the day at The Old Bailey, observing cases in the law courts. We visited a Music and Arts festival, and after a day at work, I searched for a mural that I’d heard about. Back in 2012, I commented on the global financial crisis, which was relevant to my job at the time.

A new idea that my daughter shared is “my year in pixels”. I’m recording a colour for each day in excel, while she has coloured pens and is recording in her diary planner. We will look back on each month, on the overall trend, within the context of our current life, her as a new stay at home mum with a teething baby, me currently enjoying a period of summer non-employment and daily beach walks.